This invention relates generally to a stop or barrier mounted on a lift and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a barrier for mounting on a horizontal wheelchair lift attached to the side of a vehicle.
Heretofore, there have been various types of lifts and ramps which are folded into a vehicle or aircraft. In particular, there are wheelchair lifts that are folded vertically into an opening in the vehicle. The lift is lowered from the vehicle to a horizontal position and adjacent the opening in the vehicle. The wheelchair and occupant are then wheeled onto the lift and the lift is lowered to the ground surface.
While prior art lifts and ramps have used various types of mechanical cable driven or hydraulically driven stops or plates attached to the sides of the lifts and ramps to prevent an object from rolling off, none of the prior art devices provide a safety barrier which is mounted at the front of the lift to prevent the object from dropping off the lift and automatically lowers when the lift contacts the ground surface so that the object may be unloaded from the lift.
Also, none of the prior art stop or barriers have included a lock for securing the safety barrier when it is in operation and automatically releasing the barrier when the lift contacts the ground surface.